


Beaten, We Rise Again

by PencilofAwesomeness



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Universe, Depression, Family Dynamics, Fantastic Racism, Flashbacks, Gen, Gladiators, I'm Sorry, Imprisonment, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Reiner is 1000 percent done with life, Reiner is Space Dad, Sentient Voltron Lions, Survivor Guilt, Team as Family, Voltron au, What Have I Done, just kidding, paladins of voltron - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-26
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2019-03-09 13:06:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13482093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PencilofAwesomeness/pseuds/PencilofAwesomeness
Summary: Reiner Braun knew his life would never be normal again—not since he and his crew were abducted by aliens during the Kerberos Mission. But somehow, he didn't think he would get dragged back out to space with four kids in tow, expected once again to save a universe that is in constant distress.The role of a paladin never ends. Voltron will always rise again.





	Beaten, We Rise Again

**Author's Note:**

> I, uh, made a new one. Whoops, my hand slipped.
> 
> This is my first AoT/SnK fic, and it's an AU... If you're coming here from the AoT fandom, fret not! You shouldn't need to understand Voltron to enjoy this! (I mean, it'll help, sure, but it's not necessary.) If you know some Voltron, great! Hell: if you only know Voltron, you might enjoy this! It's a little depressing, sure, but I think it's mild compared to AoT in canon. 
> 
> SPOILERS: If you have not read up to about issues 90-95 in the manga, there may be some spoilers concerning the characters. However, no plot points of AoT will be spoiled. 
> 
> I'm trying my hand at a different timeline style that combines past and present, so this is rather experimental. I hope you enjoy it, nonetheless!

_"One step closer_  
_We’re looking out for brighter days_  
_One step closer_  
_We’ll find our way back home..."_

— Flyleaf, "Home"

* * *

 

Gabi liked to think that she had been a seeker of the truth (or, as other people liked to say, a _conspiracy nut_ ) since she was old enough to question things, but in truth, it happened three years ago. Three years ago, when her cousin and his team disappeared from the Kerberos mission without a trace. Those stiffs at the Garrison chalked it up to pilot error, but Gabi knew better. Reiner was the best pilot the Garrison had—that there ever was, in her opinion—and there was no way he just… _failed_ like that. No. Something else had to be up; they had to be out there. Somewhere…

She stared out at the stars longingly, restlessness and loss weighing on her heart. Gabi and Reiner had been close in their childhood, even though he was nine years older than her. Maybe it was because they were the only cousin that each other had. Maybe it was because he was always babysitting her, but was somehow patient enough (occasionally) to entertain the young whims of her and her friends. Maybe it was because they both loved adventure—even if Reiner never admitted it. He would always go on about national pride and stuff like that when he got to join the Garrison, but Gabi never really believed that.

But now, Gabi Braun was accurately aware that it didn’t matter why Reiner went on a six-month expedition to Kerberos; it only mattered that he never came back.

“I know you’re not dead,” she declared to the stars, legs swinging over her windowsill. Reiner was too strong and too amazing to be anything but alive. The question was: _where was he?_ Gabi held the firm belief that the only possible solution was that they were abducted by aliens. Zofia thought that it was far more likely that there was a government conspiracy afoot, and that they were being held against their will or something, but no one could fathom an appropriate reason for the government to indefinitely bench their best team.

There was a chance, Gabi accepted, that there were merely lost or stranded somewhere, whether alien or domestic. Perhaps they got frozen in an ice storm on Kerberos, and were preserved like _Captain America_ or something. If that was the case, then as soon as Gabi left primary school to join the Garrison academy, then she would be the one to find them. But that wasn’t the optimal solution, however, because Gabi was only fifteen and she wouldn’t be allowed admission until next year, when she was sixteen. And then, it could be anywhere from two to six years before she could get a mission that big! Although understandable, it was infuriating.

Of course, she wouldn’t be stuck waiting if the Garrison would actually _do_ something, instead of parade around and declare their best exploration team dead! Zofia could be right: maybe the government was at fault for this. Even if they weren’t, Gabi was sure they were hiding something.

Gabi let her gaze wander again into the expanse of the stars above the Missouri plains, twinkling with their coveted secrets. “I wish I could find you soon…” she whispered to them. Aunt Karina, in particular, was only getting worse… She lived with them now, having no one to support her after Reiner dropped off the face of the Earth, since it had been Reiner’s government checks that paid her medical bills. Her sickness only seemed to worsen in the face of sadness, too. Also, Gabi wasn’t naïve; she knew that the longer Reiner remained missing, the slimmer the chance of recovering him was.

The stars shimmered in response, and Gabi watched as a shooting star manifested itself, as if to solidify her wish. Wait… That wasn’t a shooting star… She saw the object stream closer, a burning mass of violent that rippled across the sky. If it wasn’t so close, it might have been mistaken for a mirage of the night, but Gabi could practically _feel_ the object approach as it thrummed in their atmosphere. The impact it made when it disappeared behind the tree line could in no way be imagined, as the foundation shuddered beneath her, and the trees around their house swayed in a nonexistent wind.

There was no way to explain the inexplicable need Gabi felt to find the space-sent object. It was a desire that ignited within her—an adventurous desire that beckoned to her with urgent necessity. Whatever lay behind the horizon, embedded in the earth, was hers to claim. It was almost as if the universe handed her the keys to fulfill her wish on a star-ridden platter, and Gabi by no means intended to pass up on this opportunity, whatever it proved to be.

However, as much as Gabi wanted to swing down from her window that very second, and search for the unidentified object, even _she_ was aware of the difficulties of going at it alone. Besides, it looked as if it had landed several miles out, and if her parents caught her out, she was a dead woman. On top of that, Gabi wouldn’t want to worry them; she was the only kid their family had left.

There was also the matter of size. That thing looked as if it could be huge, even after being burned up by the atmosphere. She needed reinforcements. She needed to rally the troops of war!

—o0o—

Rallying the troops of war proved difficult at one-thirty a.m., so Gabi had to settle for a nine o’clock expedition instead. They would have set off _earlier_ if _someone_ (Falco) hadn’t slept in and missed her very urgent phone message.

“Compass?”

“Check.”

“Hover-bikes?”

“Check.”

“Trunk?”

“Check.”

“Snacks?”

“Check!”

Gabi nodded, pleased with herself, as Udo confirmed that they had the items for their quest. She folded the list that she had scrawled out on a sheet of paper last night, and stuffed it in her pocket. “Are we all ready to go?” she chirped.

Zofia observed their stock carefully, with that impassive look the pale-headed girl gets when she’s deep in thought. “If it was a crash, it could be embedded into the ground. We’ll need something to pry it out of the ground—if it can even be lifted,” she droned.

“ _Or,_ something to pry it _open_ ,” Gabi corrected, waving her finger at Zofia triumphantly. “You’re brilliant! Falco, grab the crowbar!”

“Um…” Falco, for all his hesitance, returned with the desired item. “Is all this really necessary?” the blond asked. “It could be space junk…”

“But space junk would still be cool,” Gabi interjected. “Because it was in _space._ ”

Falco shrugged to himself, accepting her logic. Damn right!

“We should get going,” Gabi announced. She was banking on the fact that the Garrison was all the way in Nevada, because she wanted to beat them there. If they waited until later in the day, it could be too late! They already wasted precious time _sleeping._

“Mo- _om_ , we’re going out to the fields!” she yelled.

“Be careful!” her mom called back automatically.

_Ding-dong._

Just as they were preparing to leave, however, the doorbell sputtered to life. Normally, the only people who came around that way were the mailmen, or occasionally neighbors, but Gabi couldn’t deny that she was curious, so she led her friends slowly out through the back door, so that she could hear her mom greet them, and satisfy her.

Her mom shrieked.

It was that kind of loud, gasp-like shriek that was born of terrible excitement; the same sound people normally make when they are shocked by their own fortune, or scared out of their wits in some haunted theme park ride. Instantly alarmed, the four of them froze in their tracks and faced the front of the house, and Gabi went running.

She skidded around the corner, not thinking about whether or not it was a good idea to run straight out the front door, and come face to face with what her mother saw. Her heart stilled in her chest, pounding as if in slow motion.

The man standing on the front porch was unmistakable. Reiner’s smile was as watery as his eyes, as he stood there like a lost teen, despite the fact that he seemed bigger than Gabi remembered—but that may have been the new sweatshirt that his arms were burrowed in. He had a thin beard, and a scar drew itself over his right brow and down his cheek, but it was _him._

“Sorry I stayed away so long,” Reiner rumbled, the apology heavy on his tongue. “It’s good to see you, Aunt Patty.”

Gabi was running before she knew it, catapulting herself into her cousin’s arms. It was too good to be anything but a dream, but the body she collided with was real and solid. He jerked at first, as if surprised by her presence, until he relaxed and wrapped his left arm around her. “Wow, you’ve grown…” he laughed, voice thick.

She laughed too, voice loud and hysterical. She couldn’t see anything now, the world being a watery mess, but she didn’t care. “I missed you,” Gabi mumbled into his chest.

“I missed you too, Gabi.”

“ _Reiner!”_ Aunt Karina appeared at the doorway, messy sobs contorting her face. “Reiner, Reiner, you’re _home_!”

Gabi stepped back and allowed Reiner’s mom to embrace him, and watched as Reiner returned the hug with all the caution of a bull trying not to snap a twig. “Yeah,” he mumbled, hazel eyes distant and glassy. “Home…”


End file.
